The Dragon Dance set is one of Salamence's most dangerous options and is incredibly effective at sweeping towards the end of a match or breaking the mid-game wide open. Salamence is reasonably sturdy and sports a number of key resistances, including immunity to Ground-type attacks, so it should have no problem finding an opportunity to use Dragon Dance. STAB Outrage is extremely powerful and thus a fairly obvious choice; after a single Dragon Dance and with Life Orb, it is capable of at worst 2HKOing almost every Pokémon available in the OU tier, including the Steel-types that resist it. Earthquake complements Outrage well, covering most Steel-types such as Heatran and Metagross that resist Dragon; it also provides a good attacking option when Salamence isn't ready to use Outrage, such as during the beginning of a game. Fire Blast handles the very defensive Steel-types that Earthquake doesn't affect significantly, such as Skarmory and Forretress, and OHKOes Scizor; Stone Edge doesn't do nearly as much against Skarmory, but will OHKO the standard physically defensive Zapdos and offensive Gyarados (taking Intimidate into account) after a Dragon Dance. Dragon Claw is a perfectly usable option in the final slot for a secondary STAB in situations where you prefer to not lock yourself into Outrage. If you opt for Dragon Claw, it is suggested that you couple Salamence with Magnezone support to eliminate bulkier Steel-types. The nature and EVs given are for use with Fire Blast. The small Special Attack investment allows Salamence, with its respectable base 110 Special Attack, to always OHKO a full health maximum HP, minimum Special Defense Impish Skarmory. If one elects to use Stone Edge or Dragon Claw, a 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe spread with an Adamant or Jolly nature will suffice. The choice between the Attack-boosting and the Speed-boosting nature depends partially on personal preference. The Attack-boosting nature is recommended if the set contains Stone Edge so Salamence can OHKO physically defensive Zapdos after a Dragon Dance, but the Speed-boosting nature often proves helpful with Fire Blast. While it may seem that Salamence would have more than enough Speed to sweep effectively after a Dragon Dance, a Speed-boosting nature prevents the possibility that Pokémon like Modest Choice Scarf Gengar, Timid Choice Scarf Roserade, and Jolly Choice Scarf Lucario might stand in its way. Additionally, a Speed-boosting nature ensures that Salamence ties with Zapdos, Jirachi, Celebi, and even other Salamence at worst. Life Orb is the preferred item because its 30% power boost offers Salamence the opportunity to OHKO many Pokémon it otherwise wouldn't be able to, such as Zapdos and Gyarados. However, it offers no defensive properties, and even detracts from Salamence's HP every time it attacks; as such, Yache Berry and Lum Berry are options for more conservative players. Yache Berry will let Salamence survive most unSTABed Ice attacks, but unlike its Swords Dancing Dragon counterpart Garchomp, Salamence has Dragon Dance, whose Speed-boosting effect lessens the danger from faster Pokémon with Ice attacks; however, Yache Berry is still helpful against Ice Shard users like Mamoswine, bulky Water-types that won't be OHKOed by Outrage, and extremely fast Pokémon that will outrun Salamence even after a Dragon Dance. Lum Berry is another useful defensive item that will heal Salamence if it inadvertently is paralyzed, burned, or put to sleep.
Salamence's powerful mixed set is capable of cracking stall wide open, as it can manage to hit practically any Pokémon in the entire game very hard. Draco Meteor's 140 base power provides a wealth of immediate strength and Fire Blast hits Steel-types like Jirachi, Skarmory, and Metagross. Flamethrower is a more reliable but significantly less powerful option in Fire Blast's stead; usually, though, the power drop isn't worth the raised accuracy. Brick Break strikes most Pokémon that can take the special attacks potently, Pokémon like Blissey, Empoleon, and Heatran, 2HKOing all three with Stealth Rock down, and OHKOes Tyranitar. Roost is the more commonly used option in the fourth slot, canceling out Life Orb's recoil to an extent and helping against other residual damage; however, Crunch is available to hit Cresselia and Dusknoir after they suffer a Draco Meteor. Rash nature and Life Orb ensure that MixMence hits as hard as possible; it needs the boosts to pick up the 2HKOs and OHKOs that it absolutely needs to get. Again, 176 Speed EVs returns 280 Speed, outrunning Adamant Lucario. One can, however, experiment with different Attack and Special Attack weightings, depending on one's team and personal experience or preference.
A variation on the more standard MixMence, this time making use of Salamence's balanced offensive stats and ridiculously high-powered STAB moves in Draco Meteor and Outrage. Earthquake and Fire Blast are obvious choices to combat Steel-types that resist your Dragon attacks. Roost is an alternative over Outrage to recover Stealth Rock and Life Orb damage but should be considered a lesser option. The EVs are specifically designed to combat a few of Salamence's most common switch-ins. The given EVs allow Salamence to KO 252 HP / 252 Def Bold Cresselia on average with Stealth Rock damage by a combination of Draco Meteor on the switch-in and then two repeated Outrages. The Attack EVs also guarantee that Outrage 2HKOes the most defensive of Bold Blissey with Stealth Rock. 208 Speed EVs assure that Salamence outruns all Gyarados prior to a Dragon Dance. Mild is chosen over Rash so that Cresselia's or Blissey's weaker Ice Beams do not KO.
Salamence makes fantastic use of Choice Band due to its impressive stats and accommodating move pool. It is also very effective because most opponents will be anticipating the more common Dragon Dance or Mixed sets allowing Salamence to use the element of surprise to its advantage. Outrage is expected for the high base power and STAB while Aqua Tail complements this surprisingly well. Aqua Tail is useful against Hippowdon and Gliscor, both of whom are 2HKOed the majority of the time with Stealth Rock damage. Aqua Tail is also a safety option against Heatran, Magnezone, and Metagross if you fear locking yourself into Earthquake. Fire Blast is for the obvious Skarmory and is your best option against Celebi without having to lock yourself into Outrage. Earthquake is standard fare and an all around excellent offensive move, it is specifically helpful for Steel-types and is your best option against Tyranitar. Stone Edge should also be considered in the final slot for physically defensive Zapdos, who is OHKOed 74.36% of the time with Stealth Rock damage, and also provides a way to kill opposing Salamence and Gyarados without locking yourself into Outrage. Dragon Claw is also a decent move to consider as a secondary STAB if you worry about locking yourself into Outrage. If coverage against bulky Ground-types is of little concern any of the options in the fourth slot are acceptable alternatives to Aqua Tail. A Naive nature is used to get the jump on neutral Speed-natured base 100 Speed Pokémon and positive Speed natured base 90s, while not weakening the power of Fire Blast; although Naughty is still a viable option to increase Salamence's Attack to guarantee 2HKOs on bulkier Pokémon such as Hippowdon. Alternatively, you can run a nature that does not effect your defenses and simply opt for Fire Fang. Maximum Attack and Speed should be rather obvious while the small investment in Special Attack guarantees Salamence 2HKOes 252 HP / 0 SpD Bold Celebi with Fire Blast after Stealth Rock damage.
Salamence boasts extraordinary offensive prowess on both ends of the attacking spectrum, but its Speed sometimes falls short of what is necessary, so a mixed Choice Scarf set is natural. Such a Salamence is well-suited for sweeping late-game, when most opposing Pokémon are weakened; Outrage is perfectly tailored for cleaning up, and Earthquake and Fire Blast ensure that no Pokémon is capable of resisting Salamence's attacks. Hydro Pump rounds out this set nicely considering it easily 2HKOes Hippowdon, Donphan, and Gliscor, Pokémon that would otherwise give this set problems. Draco Meteor is usable over another move, likely Hydro Pump. Fortuitously, maximizing Salamence's Attack gives it just enough power to 2HKO all Vaporeon after integrating Stealth Rock damage and Leftovers recovery. The 176 Speed EVs result in 280 Speed, outrunning all base 90 Speed Pokémon not possessing a Speed-boosting nature, and Timid Heatran along the way. The remainder is invested in Special Attack to provide a boost to Fire Blast and Hydro Pump, though it doesn't convert any significant 3HKOs into 2HKOs or 2HKOs into OHKOs.
Salamence's spectacular offenses often mask its more than decent defensive abilities, which this specially bulky set attempts to take advantage of. This is a more defensive set than the previous ones and pivots on being able to Roost after a single attack and effectively set-up Dragon Dances. Both Outrage and Dragon Claw are viable moves depending on how you intend on playing this Salamence. If your intent is to continually Dragon Dance and Roost as you set up, Dragon Claw with Life Orb is your best choice. If your intent is to Dragon Dance and take a few Ice Beams as you Attack, then Outrage with Lum Berry is your best choice. Earthquake remains a useful complement to the STAB Dragon attack. Dragon Dance and Roost feed into the fact that this set is not entirely defensive, but rather takes advantage of some unexpected defensive power to score unusually placed boosts and eventually sweep while Roost maintains Salamence's health. The EVs ensure that this Salamence will survive an unSTABed Hidden Power Ice from 359 Special Attack, such as from Timid Choice Scarf Gengar, or Ice Beam from 269 Special Attack. As most Water-types don't possess that much Special Attack, Salamence can often beat them with a combination of Roost, Dragon Dance, and Dragon Claw or Outrage. 92 Speed EVs returns 259, sufficient to outrun Modest Choice Scarf Heatran after a single Dragon Dance, effectively putting the latter into a checkmate position. Modest Heatran is incapable of outrunning this Salamence and thus would be OHKOed by Earthquake, but Timid Heatran's maximum Special Attack is 359 and thus would not be able to deal more than 90% to Salamence. 259 Speed is also enough to outrun Jolly Weavile after a Dragon Dance, but it is recommended to check for Ice Shard before attacking it. 64 Attack EVs guarantee that 404 HP / 361 Def Suicune is 2HKOed with Outrage after Stealth Rock damage. If you opt to use Dragon Claw you may want to consider investing slightly more in Attack. An alternative spread for this set, to make it fully special defensive, is to use a Careful nature with Leftovers and an EV spread of 252 HP / 164 SpD / 92 Spe. Leftovers' health recovery gives this Salamence much more survivability, at least nullifying the detrimental effects of possible sandstorm or hail, letting this Salamence switch in more often. 56 HP / 124 Atk / 232 SpD / 92 Spe with an Adamant nature is another alternative for slightly better Special Defensive abilities and will also allow you to 2HKO 444 HP / 372 Def Cresselia with Outrage after a Dragon Dance on average with Stealth Rock damage.
Although this set's moves are identical to those of the Specially Bulky set, the EV spread causes it to be played very differently. Salamence is surprisingly durable on the physical end, augmented by Intimidate's Attack-reducing effect. While Leftovers is likely the superior item choice to lessen the effects of sandstorm and hail, Lum Berry is still a very good item to consider if you opt for Outrage and just to avoid status attacks in general. The EVs ensure that after Intimidate, a Choice Scarf Heracross does no more than 46% with Stone Edge, guaranteeing Salamence's survival even with a critical hit; Lucario's Life Orb and Swords Dance boosted ExtremeSpeed will also never 2HKO. The EVs also attain 280 Speed, which is important to outrun Adamant Lucario so Salamence won't be OHKOed by Ice Punch; on the way, 280 Speed also outruns Timid Choice Scarf Heatran and Adamant Choice Scarf Heracross after a Dragon Dance. Unfortunately, this Salamence is incapable of dealing with Bronzong, Skarmory, and Scizor, one of the greatest physical threats around, unless it uses Flamethrower or Fire Blast, forcing it to split its EVs. Thus, Magnezone support is highly recommended when using this set. This set can be made more offensive with an Adamant nature and Life Orb, though that significantly cuts down on its durability. If you desire to outrun Jolly Lucario in fear of Ice Punch, and other positive Speed base 90s, an alternative spread available is 192 HP / 140 Def / 176 Spe, with again a Jolly nature of your own.
With Choice Specs Salamence's decrease in usage comes a rise in the surprise factor. Choice Specs boosted Draco Meteor is the most powerful single attack that Salamence can use in one turn without prior setup. While it is normally unwise to use two offensive attacks of the same type in a single moveset, there are some exceptions, such as here; Dragon Pulse is best used for late-game sweeping, whereas Draco Meteor makes an enormous impact earlier. Flamethrower complements the Dragon-type attacks well, and Hydro Pump picks off the rest, including Pokémon like Heatran, Bastiodon, and Probopass. Hydro Pump is also an incredibly useful coverage move in situations where your prediction may be less than perfect. Choice Specs Salamence's usage has dropped dramatically from levels during the primordial metagame because it has absolutely no way of bypassing Blissey. However, it is still an incredibly potent threat and should in no way be underestimated or neglected.
This particular Salamence is suited to take hits from Heracross, Lucario, and various other Fighting-types. Salamence also makes a great switch-in to Scizor, especially if it lacks Iron Head (and most will). With Intimidate bolstering Salamence's Defense, it is able to switch into a variety of physical attacks. For example, a Swords Danced Life Orb Lucario's Close Combat can only manage 46-54% after Intimidate. Crunch and Extremespeed will both do even less damage. Amazingly, after an Intimidate, not even Ice Punch will be able to OHKO this Salamence with the given EVs. Roost gives Salamence an instant 50% recovery move while removing one of its weaknesses and reducing another. Wish allows Salamence to support the team while offering a secondary form of healing for itself. Toxic is a plausible option that allows Salamence to wear down defensive threats. Draco Meteor is Salamence's most powerful attack, allowing it to hit hard even without Special Attack investment, but if the negative side-effect is too much to bear Dragon Pulse is an option. Flamethrower offers great coverage when paired with Draco Meteor and allows Salamence to 2HKO Skarmory and OHKO both Forretress and Scizor. Earthquake is another option on the set that could be used in order to more easily take on Heatran. Even with a Bold nature and 0 Attack EVs, Salamence still has a 92.3% chance to OHKO a 4 HP / 0 Def Heatran. If wanted, Salamence can use Substitute over Flamethrower to help stall with Toxic, while also blocking status. However, this leaves you incredibly vulnerable to Steel-type Pokémon. The EVs allow Salamence maximum physical durability while still retaining the ability to outrun Adamant Lucario. As with the previous sets, if you desire to outrun Jolly Lucario you may consider running 176 Speed EVs.
This set aims to take full advantage of Salamence's unpredictability and superb mixed base attacking stats. It seeks to lure in physically defensive Pokémon that would be called upon to counter a standard Dragon Dancer, such as Hippowdon and Swampert, and slam them with a surprise special attack, freeing Salamence to use Outrage on a more susceptible target. Furthermore, this set aims to rectify the common problems that halt a Salamence sweep, be it MixMence's relative incapability of damaging special walls without predicting a switch in, or the Dragon Dancer's difficulty with taking on more physically defensive Pokémon. The most effective tactic when using this set is to Dragon Dance off the bat, boosting the power of Outrage and allowing you to outspeed normally faster threats. From this point, one should choose the appropriate move depending on the opponent's reaction to Salamence. Draco Meteor will do huge amounts of damage to various physical walls, and having seen Dragon Dance, the likes of Gyarados, Hippowdon, and Swampert will be taken completely by surprise from your strong special attack. Blissey is highly unlikely to switch into a Salamence with a Dragon Dance under its belt, so your special attack should hit its mark, enabling you to use Outrage freely once the initial counter is removed. One of the best advantages of this set is that Salamence will not be forced to Outrage immediately after having Danced up, meaning the common strategy of letting it "Outrage into a Steel" is rendered ineffective. The last slot is dedicated to a coverage move to help out against the Steel-types that resist Salamence's Dragon attacks. While Fire Blast may seem like the superior choice here at an initial glance, Earthquake will generally provide Salamence with stronger and more consistent damage. The majority of the time, Salamence will find itself having Dragon Danced and Draco Meteored once already when it comes face to face with an opposing Steel-type, meaning attacking from a +1 Attack stat as compared to a -2 Special Attack stat is far more effective, not to mention that it gives Salamence a way of dealing with Heatran. However, this does leave Salamence with the problem of not being able to hit Skarmory and Bronzong for neutral damage. Running a positive Attack nature will ensure you make the most of Salamence's naturally high Attack stat, and allows it to sweep very easily with Outrage after a Dragon Dance. Max Special Attack with a neutral nature guarantees OHKOs on max HP Zapdos and min HP Gyarados after Stealth Rock damage. 176 Speed EVs hit 280 Speed, allowing Salamence to serve as a reliable check against Adamant Lucario and non-Scarfed Heatran before using Dragon Dance, while also allowing it to outspeed Scarfed versions of said Heatran and everything slower after boosting its own Speed. A Naive nature can be run on this set if you so wish; you will lose power on Outrage but will be able to Speed tie with 90 base Speed Pokémon and outspeed Timid Scarf Rotom-h after a Dragon Dance. Notably, a Naive nature and a Dragon Dance, will still OHKO the standard 148/252 Calm Blissey with Outrage assuming Stealth Rock is on the field. Pairing this set up with a Magnezone is highly recommended, as it can singlehandedly remove Skarmory and Bronzong from the game and give Salamence a clear path to sweep. If you are opposed to using Magnezone, Fire Blast can be used for its ability to hit Celebi notably harder without the need to Outrage; however it is unreliable and will leave you helpless against Heatran. Magnezone also serves as an efficient answer to Scizor, in particular Choice Band versions that try to revenge kill Salamence with Bullet Punch. Lucario pairs up well with this set as well, since it can beat both Skarmory and Bronzong with a boosted Close Combat, and also packs a resistance to Bullet Punch (albeit taking quite a bit of damage from Choice Band Scizor). A Scarf Dugtrio can be employed to beat the majority of Heatran sets, which will allow comfortabe use of Fire Blast in the fourth move slot. Here are some damage calculations to demonstrate the strength with which this set can hit from both sides of the spectrum (assuming a Naughty nature).
Other OptionsYache Berry (Ice-resist) is a viable option on the Dragon Dancer, but Dragonite makes better use of it with his superior defenses. You should also note that a Life Orb paired with a single Dragon Dance is effectively a 1.95x boost. Switching to Yache Berry to get an extra Dragon Dance (a 2x boost) gives only a marginal gain in attacking power; the extra Dragon Dance is really only useful to get more Speed. You can run Aerial Ace if you really hate Heracross, but it's largely unneeded. The 100 base power Dragon Rush may be appetizing, but its 75% accuracy sure isn't. There are plenty of move combinations and EV spreads that Salamence can use with a Choice Scarf, be it all physical, special or mixed; however, the given Choice Scarf set it probably your best option if you want to make good use of the item. Hidden Power Ground is a viable option over Hydro Pump on the Choice Specs set, given its ability to guarantee an OHKO on Heatran regardless of its HP investment and its super effectiveness against Empoleon. However, it has very little utility and Hydro Pump is almost always better due to its higher base power and all around better coverage. It's often unwise to have a Pokémon locked into a Ground-type attack, though, since many of the most dangerous threats in the game, including Gengar, Gyarados, and Salamence itself are immune to the type. The only reason to even consider it over Hydro Pump is because of its superior accuracy. Pairing Salamence with a Rapid Spinner to keep Stealth Rock off the field will prolong Salamence's lifespan. Getting your hands on a Wish Jirachi will greatly benefit you, as Salamence and Jirachi cover each other's weaknesses perfectly. Salamence is weak to Ice, Rock and Dragon attacks, all of which Jirachi resists, and Jirachi is weak to Ground and Fire and takes neutral damage from Fighting and Bug, all of which Salamence resists or is immune to. For those reason, Jirachi will easily be able to pass Wishes to Salamence to lessen the effects of Stealth Rock. EVsDue to Salamence's stat distribution and Intimidate he can really be EVed to accomplish just about anything. For the more complicated spreads, you'll want to use what was recommended prior to accomplish the specific goals listed. Generally speaking, you'll want to either pump Salamence's offenses or play up its defenses to capitalize on Intimidate. You should generally aim for either 270 Speed or 299 Speed, with either Attack or Special Attack at 252 EVs and the rest in Salamence's respectable 95 base HP. The 328 Speed a Jolly or Naive nature offers will probably still not be fast enough to offset the drop in power in the long run, but they are options none the less. OpinionSalamence is arguably one of the biggest threats in DPP since it can hit very hard from both ends of the damage spectrum without needing to set up. There is literally no one counter to Salamence until you know its moveset, and even then it can be a challenge to take. Its versatility makes it a fantastic early-, mid- and late-game Pokémon as well, which is not something you can say about a lot of Pokémon. If you use it wisely, Salamence should win you a lot of battles. However, it's not without its faults. You will have to account for both Stealth Rock and sandstream since non-Leftovers Salamence will take a minimum 25% (Stealth Rock) + 6.25% (Sand Stream) + 6.25% (Sand Stream) = 37.5% damage every time it switches in and attacks, and this is assuming it is untouched by your opponent's Pokémon. More often than not, residual damage will be Salamence's worst enemy. CountersBronzong is a nice initial switch into any Salamence, but it should be Sassy with a lot of HP and SpD EVs to maximize the power of Gyro Ball and not drop the power of Explosion as well. A defensively EVed Gliscor with Ice Fang and Roost can come in on all but the Draco Meteor variants, and an Impish, defensively EVed Rhyperior will sponge physical attacks nicely. However, both Gliscor and Rhyperior must be in excellent health since a Dragon Danced Life Orb Outrage (or even Earthquake in the case of Rhyperior) will easily 2HKO. Porygon2 is arguably the best counter to any physical-based Salamence due to its unique ability to Trace Intimidate, further it can cripple Salamence with either Thunder Wave or Ice Beam. Porygon2 is also one of the best choices against the MixMence, provided it has enough Special Defense to take a Draco Meteor or two. Cresselia too, makes an excellent choice against most MixMence. Nothing really counters the DD Salamence set well at all. As stated prior, Porygon2 is your best option here. Bronzong is your next best bet, but Bronzong can be 2HKOed by a Life Orb Fire Blast. The key to keeping Dragon Dance Salamence in check is either by intelligent prediction or by utilizing an effective revenge killer. Arguably the most efficient means of dealing with DD Salamence is to lure it into locking itself into Outrage, and then switching in a physically defensive Steel-type such as Skarmory or Registeel. Alternatively, having a faster Pokémon with access to Ice Beam, such as Choice Scarf Starmie, can also be an effective check against DD Salamence. Hippowdon and Cresselia make decent initial switch-ins against the Choice Band set, but are vulnerable to 2HKOes from Outrage, or even Aqua Tail in the case of Hippowdon. Gyarados with Ice Fang or Avalanche can switch into physical variants thanks to Intimidate, but it should be very bulkily EVed. Weezing can come in on physical variants and use Will-O-Wisp and or Pain Split accordingly. Suicune has a harder time handling Choice Band Salamence compared to Advance thanks to the now-physical Dragon Claw and powerful Outrage, and it is nearly OHKOed by Draco Meteor, but can still switch in sometimes. And while Milotic handles special attacks better than Suicune does, it is not a general Salamence counter since a Choice Banded Dragon Claw is a 2HKO half the time on a physically defensive Milotic and is guaranteed with Outrage. Ice Shard Donphan / Mamoswine / Weavile can come in if Salamence faints a Pokémon and ward it off 100% of the time, but the only one of those three that can actually switch into Salamence is Donphan, and that's only on the physical variants, preferably the Dragon Dance Salamence. This works especially well if Salamence is locked into Outrage since it will be unable to switch out. Blissey and Empoleon counter SpecsMence versions (the latter if Calm and properly EVed), and a Calm Cresselia can shrug off SpecsMence's attacks well provided there's no Sandstorm. A Careful Registeel with Ice Punch can handle SpecsMence in a pinch as well, even in spite of the weakness to Fire. A Dragon Pulse / Hidden Power Ice Heatran can handle SpecsMence to some degree, but you will need a large HP / SpD EV investment. Stone Edge Cradily would function similarly provided you max its HP and Special Defense and use it in a Sand Stream to boost its Special Defense. Assuming you have Stealth Rock up, if you can force Salamence to switch out, you have already gone a long way towards dealing with it. |
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